OUR STORY

I have always believed in championing the underdog. There is a part of me that has consistently rejected authority. I’ve always been offended by injustice.

I’m a real estate lawyer by trade (actually…a ‘reformed’ lawyer). Out of law school I built the largest real estate conveyancing firm in my market. Competing with Big Title and beating them was a big part of what drove me. At the same time I was so curious about what the people at Big Title knew, how they worked and how they’d gained so much market share. They all seemed so fancy…so slick, whereas all I knew was how to close deals and compassionately and effectively manage stressed out customers, pompous realtors and boorish lenders. I knew that my legal education did not prepare me to run a rapidly growing business, but yet was so flattered at all the attention I received from Big Title who were so eager to learn how I grew my title business so fast.

I decided to sell my firm and join one of the Big Title Underwriters. In the many years I spent working there, I achieved exactly what I had set out to – namely to learn their inner workings and operational mindset and then go back to being independent and apply all that I’d learned.

As it turns out I could best apply what I learned through building a niche consulting firm focused on helping independent title agents.

Our consulting team is comprised of seasoned experts. All of us come from roles at Big Title. We believe in the value small business offers to our country. We believe in supporting entrepreneurs. Whether we are knee deep in technology or workflow optimization, a reorganization designed to improve efficiency, or finding ways to lower production costs, we collectively want small independent firms to know what the people at Big Title know…so as to help them compete and provide them with a fighting chance. Our goal is to level the playing field.

I remember vividly the moment I realized that Big Title sometimes took independents for a ride when it came time to negotiate an acquisition of an independent agency. Some at Big Title acted shamelessly and often took advantage of the small business owner’s kind nature and willingness to share information. I’m not saying all Big Title acts this way…but the ones who do try to cloak themselves in respectability in the way they speak and act initially, when we know their ultimate actions will reveal a different truth.

I was determined to apply our consulting firm’s success in leveling the playing field to situations where independent title company owners were thinking about selling their agency. We kept being asked by private equity firms to guide them through due diligence on acquisitions they were contemplating and it occurred to me that we could simply roll the consulting firm into our own Mergers & Acquisitions firm to do this correctly from the ground up.

By sheer luck (or was it?) I sat beside a seasoned Investment Banker named Bobbi Babitz on a flight one day from LA to Denver. Bobbi and her partner Brett Story own a boutique Mergers & Acquisitions firm and FINRA/SEC registered broker dealer.

As I settled into my seat, I could not help but notice Bobbi’s frenetic pace. She was all business and trying to get as much work done as she could before the plane took off. However, just before the flight attendant ordered phones to be turned off, she placed a quick call to her fiancé. I gravitated to this hard-nosed business woman’s soft and sweet ‘normal’ side. Work-life balance is important to me and I will only ever work with people who share my values and how I approach the world. We got to talking and agreed that there is room in the industry for a Mergers & Acquisitions firm that not only understands title fundamentals, the challenges and opportunities faced by independent owners, but who can also engage with Big Title, get their attention, and get them to close transactions..

And so, Turk & Company was born. We are solely focused on Mergers & Acquisitions in the title industry, and doing so in a way that complies with SEC and FINRA regulations. Turk & Company combines a seasoned team of title experts with an experienced team of middle-market investment bankers. Our goal is clear and simple – HELPING independents navigate what could otherwise be a scary world.